[CS-FSLUG] Do you believe the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant Word?

Sun Jan 16 22:09:53 CST 2005

DAILY DEVOTIONAL     MONDAY JANUARY 17, 2005
(2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)

The one question you MUST ask your pastor.  If you currently have a church
home, I pray that this is a question you already know the answer to.  If you
don't know for certain, you need to find out right away.  If you are not in
a church, this is the most important question to ask your potential new
pastor.  This question should be answered by an immediate and emphatic YES.
If you get a long pause, if you get a "yes but," or get anyhting other than
a resounding YES, this is NOT a church you should be part of or a pastor you
should have in spiritual authority over you.  The question is, "Do you
believe the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant Word, representing Absolute
Truth, and our final authority in all matters."

Why that question?  God's Word and God's Word alone is the foundation on
which our faith is based and all that we believe flows from it.  Listen to
me very carefully.  It is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to be in spiritual authority
that does not believe the Bible to be God's inspired and inerrant Word, to
represent Absolute Truth, and our final authority in all matters.
IMPOSSIBLE!  If a person does not hold the Bible to be God's Word, then they
have denied the very faith they claim to hold and represent.  When you deny
the Bible is God's Word, it opens up the door for every kind of sin and
perversion to enter into the church since it is now up to each person to
determine what "truth" is.

Now you can understand why some churches condone blatant sins like
homosexuality and abortion.  Now you can understand why some churches refuse
to preach on sin and hold people accountable for their choices..  Now you
can understand how some "pastors" can make a mockery of God's Holy
Institution of Marriage by marrying two people of the same sex.  Now you can
understand why some churches hold on to man made traditions.  When you deny
the Bible is inspired and inerrant, represents Absolute Truth, and is our
final authority in all matters, it allows each person to determine for
themselves what is right and what is wrong.

Can you see what chaos that becomes?  The world says that there is no such
thing as Absolute Truth.  Truth is not black and white but gray.  That my
friend, is a lie from the pits of hell itself.  What may be right to me, is
wrong to you.  What may be right to you is wrong to me.  It is what the
Bible calls, " everyone did what was right in their own imaginations."
Never forget that satan is a liar (John 8:44).  God is truth.  God did not
create us and leave us to figure out life on our own.  Even in the Garden of
Eden, God told man what is right and wrong.

Once man chose to rebel against God and sin was introduced into the human
experience, his relationship with God was broken.  Man was now separated
from God his Creator.  That is why it became necessary for God to give man
the Bible.  Many have said incorrectly that the Bible is man's search for
God, when in reality, it is God's search for man.  It is in the Bible that
God reveals Himself to man.  It is in the Bible that God helps man gain an
understanding of who He is, what He expects from man, as well as providing
us with all that we need during this brief journey here on earth.

As I have shared with you in the past, this is why those who choose to live
their lives in rebellion to God, MUST deny the Bible, since it is the very
book that condemns them.  Those who deny God, reject His Son Jesus Christ,
MUST reject the Bible for what it is since it is the Bible that says they
are wrong.  That is why those who have chosen to live their lives in
rebellion to God are so offended by God's Word.  They are like a little
child when their parents are telling them something they don't like, putting
their fingers in their ears and yelling so they can't hear what their
parents are saying.  In Acts 7, in the account of the stoning of Stephen the
word says, "When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth
at him," and  "at this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of
their voices, they all rushed at him."

I love you and care about you so much.  While this may seem like such an
elementary question, I hate to say that in today's culture it must be asked.
The decline of the many  mainline churches can be traced back to the '60's
when they required their pastors to have a Masters of Divinity degree.  The
problem was many of these pastors were getting their seminary education in
liberal seminaries that denied the inspiration and inerrancy of God's Word.
They literally taught that the Bible is not to be believed for truth, but is
simply a guide for good living.

When you have pastors standing in the pulpit on Sundays that do not believe
God's Word to be inspired and inerrant, it opens the door for every kind of
error and perversion you can imagine.  We see that today in "churches" that
condone and accept sin and compromise the truth of God's Word by preaching
and teaching the parts of the Bible that won't offend people.  This is why
so many of these "faux churches" flourish today since people do not want to
be confronted with their sin.  They want to hear about the grace of God and
the love of God, but not the judgment of God.

Let me tell you, the Bible is a book of personal accountability.  From
Genesis to Revelation the message of God's Word is that we will all be held
accountable one day by God.  That is why so many people in this world reject
the Bible, since they do not want to be accountable for their actions.  A
big reason the false religions of the world like Buddhism, Hinduism, and so
many others are popular is because they don't hold people accountable for
their actions, there is no judgment.  I am here to tell you that just as
real as today is, will be the day you die and stand before God.  Those who
reject Christ will be judged for their sin and cast into everlasting
darkness, while those who know Christ will be judged on their life and works
since they accepted Him.

Jesus said, "if you love me you will obey me."  I will be praying for you
today.  Praying that unless you are certain, you will confront your pastor
with this critical question,  "Do you believe the Bible is God's inspired,
inerrant Word, representing Absolute Truth, and our final authority in all
matters."  For the man and woman of God, the true follower of Jesus Christ,
there is only one answer, YES!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at
bkeller at liveprayer.com

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